This invention relates to power equipment and, more particularly, to an arm construction for a radial saw.
Power saws, such as radial arm saws, must exhibit a high degree of durability and wear resistance given the many rugged applications for which they are used. At the same time, however, manufacturing cost is an important constraint in the quality of construction which goes into the saw. These costs include both material costs and the costs related to primary and secondary processing steps performed in manufacturing the saw components.
In a radial arm saw, one part which must be particularly strong and durable is the arm itself. There are a number of conventional arm constructions. One of the more common is to die cast the arm out of aluminum, machine critical surfaces, and then mount steel inserts in the cast aluminum part for strength and durability. While the resultant part serves its intended purpose, there should be simpler, and less expensive ways of manufacturing it.
One fabrication process known in the manufacturing art is roll forming. As its name implies, the process involves forming an object by directing it between rolls. The process is used to make such items as guard rails for highways, guttering, garage door tracks, welded seam pipes, etc. Heretofore, however, it has not been thought possible to use a roll forming process to make an object such as a radial saw arm.